According to Dr Mathi Chandrakumar, the Director of the Kent Health Protection Unit, over 180 cases of measles were reported to the Unit in the first six months of 2006, of which 32 were confirmed cases. In 2005 in contrast no confirmed cases were reported to the Unit.

Dr Chandrakumar is concerned that the number of cases may well continue to increase and has called on parents to ensure that their children receive the MMR vaccination.

Dr Stoate said; “the recent rise in the rate of measles cases across Kent is all too inevitable given the fall in the last few years in the number of children who have received the MMR jab.”

“All parents want to do their best for their children and I can understand why some parents have thought twice about letting their children receive the vaccine in the view of the coverage of Andrew Wakefield’s work on MMR.”

“Successive medical studies published since then however have underlined the safety of the MMR vaccine and categorically dismissed any supposed link between MMR and autism and other conditions. The Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has confirmed, after a lengthy review of existing data on the subject, that the vaccine is safe and remains the best and most effective way of protecting children,” said the MP, who is also a GP and a Member of the House of Commons Health Select Committee.

“There is a grave danger that unless vaccination rates amongst children return to the level that they were in mid 1990s - when uptake was over 90% - that we will continue to see more cases of measles come to light as we begin to lose the herd immunity that we have built up.”

“We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that measles can be a serious illness and can lead to breathing problems, ear and eye infections and range of other serious problems.”

Notes